I spend 10+ hours per week commuting, 40+ hours wearing headphones at work (open-plan office: boo!), and ANOTHER 5+ hours wearing headphones at the gym. As such, I plow through an absolutely obscene volume of podcasts. I'd like some recommendations for more (lest I be forced to spend even a single second alone with my thoughts). To help you get an idea of my preferences, here are a few lists:

TLDR: ... I like TLDR! But I loooove personal storytelling, sex/relationship advice, pop science, medicine, etc. I do NOT like listening to the hosts' incessant "um"-ing and/or giggling. I don't like "wackiness". Thanks in advance for your recommendations, Hive!

On hiatus until the fall they say, but The Bugle. Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. Fresh Air. If you can keep awake (or trying to get a nap), In Our Time (wicked interesting, but oddly calming). The Friday Comedy Podcast from BBC4. WTF with Marc Maron. Planet Money. Science Friday. Freakonomics. Stuff You Missed in History Class (go through the archives, some of the old hosts were really great).posted by General Malaise at 10:49 AM on August 12, 2014 [2 favorites]

In Our Time from the BBC has Melvyn Bragg corralling (usually) 3 academics to talk about topics in history, culture, science, and philosophy. There is a huge backlog (you end up with 6 streams, the current one and five archives by theme). There's about half a lifetime of listening.

Peter Adamson's History of Philosophy (without Any Gaps) is a great intro to Western Philosophy in bite-sized chunks. He's not wacky, but he does like ridiculous puns and examples.posted by GenjiandProust at 10:52 AM on August 12, 2014 [5 favorites]

I listen intermittently to The Nerdist, You Made it Weird, The JV Club (all on the Nerdist network) and Girl on Guy. I pick and choose episodes based on my interest in the guest. Your enjoyment of those will depend on what you think of the host as they all do talk a lot of the time!

I'm a big fan of the Slate podcasts - the Slate Cultural Gabfest is my favorite, but there is a daily edition that could add an extra hour of podcasts a day.posted by fermezporte at 10:55 AM on August 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

If you have kids, I recommend One Bad Mother. If you like obsessing over food, Spilled Milk is great. I love Jordan Jesse Go, but it may be a bit too chatty and not focused enough for you.posted by Night_owl at 10:58 AM on August 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Spark London (if you like Story telling podcasts)posted by JenThePro at 11:01 AM on August 12, 2014

Adding a vote for StarTalk and Dead Authors podcast (I think of Dead Authors as being wacky but you seem to be describing more self-conscious goofiness.). Recently I've been liking a bunch of series that BBC4 has put out. They may be too dry for you but they are informational. I'm working my way through The History of the World in 100 Objects and liking it.posted by tchemgrrl at 11:04 AM on August 12, 2014

Story Collider is a very lightly science themed storytelling podcast.

Under the Influence is a generally interesting look at advertising (used to be Age of Persuasion).

If you like fictiony stuff, I like all of Podcastle/Escape Pod/Pseudopod, also Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Clarkesworld.

In a sort of WTNV vein, there's The Hidden Almanac, which is about 3 minutes 3x a week.posted by jeather at 11:06 AM on August 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Bbc/the British museum's "A History of the World in 100 Objects"

The Tobolowsky Files --- turns out Ned Ryerson is a great storyteller

RTE's Documentary on One. An eclectic mix of radio documentary shorts from Ireland's national broadcaster. Some may grip you, some may not, but I've found their best ones to be among the best podcasts I've listened to.

RTE also had a series of bio-doc podcasts on Irish scientists you might dig.

Slightly off your topic area, but two of my faves:

BBC Radio 4's Friday Night Comedy Podcast --- the News Quiz, specifically. They're on summer hiatus now but resume once a week at the end of the month, I believe. The Now Show, which alternates on the same slot, is not as good.

History of Rome. A sardonic grad student reads 10 minute long essays about Roman history, starting with the founding and proceeding in order. That may sound dry, but Roman history is juicy and over the top enough all by itself that it balances out nicely. Gave me whole new respect for Ceasar --- and a whole new understanding of Europe and the Middle East.posted by maggiepolitt at 11:06 AM on August 12, 2014 [2 favorites]

BBC's More Or Less is a very interesting look at statistics, often diving into ones recently quoted in the news and how wrong they usually are.posted by Wysawyg at 11:10 AM on August 12, 2014 [2 favorites]

This American Wife (not a typo) is such a spot-on takedown of public radio that it's nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.posted by Yowser at 11:13 AM on August 12, 2014

The Tobolowsky Files --- turns out Ned Ryerson is a great storyteller

It took me a minute to recoginze Stephen's last name but I recognized Ned Ryerson and started hearing him in my head just from that one sentence. I am awesomeplussed to know this exists.posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 11:14 AM on August 12, 2014

I hate wackiness and listen to a huge amount of podcasts too! I do think maybe I enjoy smart/funny people just having a conversation versus heavily produced radio-style content more than you might based on your list of favorites, so keep that in mind, but here are my recs:

I love all of the week Grantland Pop Culture podcasts (my favorite is Do You Like Prince Movies), except The Moment, which is abysmal.

Comedy Bang Bang is very hit or miss for me (though some of the episodes are great), but that host has done two other limited run podcasts, Analyze Phish and U Talking U2 To Me, which are all time favorites that I discovered during a period when I had to do a lot of boring data entry and have listened to over and over again since. I also really like Who Charted/Two Charted, but it might not be for you.

Slate's Culture Gabfest isn't as good as it used to be, but is still pretty great. Slate's Spoiler Specials are also usually good. Slate's Audio Book Club is good though there is always at least one person whose opinion drives me insane (lately tends to alternate between Hanna Rosin and Dan Kois).

New Yorker Out Loud is generally well done. In Our Time is great and has a deep, deep archive if you can get into it. The archives of Desert Island Discs are also worth looking into.

Call Chelsea Peretti is soooooo strange.

The BBC's Between the Ears and The Listening Project might work for you re: Moth/TAL-y personal storytelling.

How Was Your Week is kind of a reverse Maron for me, in that I think her interviews are not very interesting but her monologue is always weird and entertaining.

I was surprised to find I really like the Cracked.Com podcast (their recent episode "Actors Who Do Weirdly Specific Things In Every Movie" is great), though their Unpopular Opinions podcast is not good.

For food, Spilled Milk, America's Test Kitchen, and Good Food are all great (Spilled Milk is more comedic (though maybe too bantery for you), ATK is more process oriented, Good Food is more focused on journalism and might be best for you). The Alton Browncast did several good episodes early on (his Giada de Laurentis interview is amazing) but got weaker over time.

I resisted Dan Carlin's Hardcore History for a long time, but they are pretty compelling, I have to admit, and you can't beat him for length.posted by raisindebt at 11:17 AM on August 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Oh I also kinda like Backstory for more American History.

And as one-off the British Imperial War Museum has a series of short first person recollections of World War I, which are pretty great.posted by brookeb at 11:18 AM on August 12, 2014

The Moth has a podcast that is 100% personal storytelling and 100% great.posted by charmedimsure at 11:20 AM on August 12, 2014

Stop Podcasting Yourself and How Was Your Week are both great. Another vote for My Brother, My Brother and Me. You might also like the Third Coast International Audio Festival Podcast. Similar to This American Life with documentary storytelling for the radio, usually grouped around a theme.posted by goggie at 11:22 AM on August 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Less Specifically: When podcasts you like are part of a network, do a search for that network and try out some shows you've never heard of. Sometimes they're really good and you wouldn't have otherwise heard about them!posted by juliapangolin at 11:23 AM on August 12, 2014

If you like long-form interview podcasts, I think Chris Hardwick does it the best on Nerdist. He's a really good host/interviewer. They're long but way more polished than, say, WTF or You Made It Weird. I skip through the beginning babbling (you'll know the interview is starting when you hear the intro music). He talks to some really interesting people and although he does know some of them you don't get the "ingroup" feeling. He's actually talked to some pretty famous people like Alex Trebec and William Shatner. I generally only listen to the ones where I know the guest.posted by radioamy at 11:30 AM on August 12, 2014

Oh you might also like Slate's Lexicon Valley. Also as mentioned above, Planet Money is really great.posted by radioamy at 11:31 AM on August 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Since you mentioned sex/relationship you might try This Feels Terrible. But it may be too too chatty.

Do you like music? Sound Opinions often has interesting interviews in addition to reviews.

If you like WTNV and wanted something a little more atmospheric/weighty than TAH, you should give The Truth a try.posted by kagredon at 11:43 AM on August 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Roderick On the Line
Film Sack
The Incomparable
Dan Carlin's Hardcore Historyposted by blue_beetle at 11:52 AM on August 12, 2014

If you (or any of you) check out the Alton Browncast as a result of this question, go back a few weeks to the episode with William Shatner. It's absolutely amazing. Alton Brown is supposed to be interviewing Shatner, but Shatner turns it around and makes Alton Brown open up. It's, well, something I don't think I've ever encountered as well before.posted by General Malaise at 11:52 AM on August 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Oh, another one I forgot about is Ask Me Another, which is another fun quiz-type show.posted by General Malaise at 11:53 AM on August 12, 2014

Nthing Planet Money, but dig back into some of the early episodes they produced during the 2008 financial meltdown. It really explained a lot for me. The series about making their T-shirt is a good set as well.posted by JoeZydeco at 12:00 PM on August 12, 2014

This may just be my Canadian showing, but I grew up on Stuart Maclean's Vinyl Cafe. He's a fantastic storyteller, and they're now coming out as podcasts. (They were always on the Canadian version of NPR when I was growing up)

They're pretty great, especially if you want a bit of a funny look into slightly rural Canadia. Quirks and Quarks is another good radio show, and CBC in general has a lot of pretty good content.

(And this is from someone who got super annoyed at my dad for ALWAAAYS having this tuned in instead of the pop-candy my mum let me tune into on rare occasion.)posted by aggyface at 12:35 PM on August 12, 2014

I guess this might be a bit too far into the "wacky" end of the spectrum but Ronna and Beverly is one of my favourites - its broad comedy certainly, and can be a bit "cliquey" in terms of guests but the characters are well observed and the interviews can be surprisingly insightful.

On the other end of the scale I also really enjoy the Telegraph's Deadline Podcast, which takes a spin on the Daily Telegraph's Obituary and Letters pages, which is both interesting, educational and very well entertainingly presented by a guy that sounds like he could be Bertie Wooster's grandson.posted by Middlemarch at 12:40 PM on August 12, 2014

Given your tastes, I think you'd enjoy:

*Pop Culture Happy Hour (which is what Slate's Pop Culture Gabfest aspires to be when it grows up)

*Girl on Guy (go through the archive and pick episodes with guests you like--it's a great way to get into the podcast)

*The Radio 4 News Quiz

All three were mentioned previously, but I think those are the ones you'd enjoy the most.posted by yellowcandy at 12:43 PM on August 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Doubletoasted for entertaining movie review podcasts.posted by Kevtaro at 12:59 PM on August 12, 2014

Never Not Funny is sometimes not all that funny, but they're long episodes so you can burn a lot of time when the episode is, in fact, funny.posted by flyoverme at 3:13 PM on August 12, 2014

Nthing:

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The Flophouse - this may be too "wacky" for you, but it is fucking hilarious.

Roderick On the Line - Discursive and entertaining

Back to Work - supposedly about productivity and creativity; really about not sucking at life

Backstory - A look at American history, usually focused around a topical theme

The Incomparable - A great pop culture discussion show.

I wish there were more sex/relationship podcasts in the vein of Savage Lovecast, which I also really like. I gave up on Sex Nerd Sandra because she's so difficult to listen to (when you noted "ums" and giggles, I immediately thought of her). I'm listening to Awkward Human Survival Guide, but it also suffers from those kinds of problems.posted by jeoc at 3:30 PM on August 12, 2014

Seconding Answer Me This. It has become my #1 favourite podcast over the years. If you like reading Ask Metafilter, you'll probably like it (there's more chatfilter though--which is a good thing!). The hosts are smart, funny, and have great chemistry.posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:16 PM on August 12, 2014

If you like popculture and TV and movies specifically, then Extra Hot Great is for you.

Penn's Sunday School (gets political, but very interesting anecdotes)
WTF with Marc Maron (the first 1/3 of each episode is usually Marc Maron being agonizingly introspective, and quite honestly he's pretty childish. The rest is an interview with someone in entertainment - in spite of my distaste for his self-centered meanderings, his interviews are quite good)
Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (NPR Quiz show)
Jay and Silent Bob Get Old (I'm on-and-off for this)posted by plinth at 4:51 PM on August 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'll recommend my usual recommendations:

This Week in Virology
This Week in Microbiology
This Week in Paratism

(the host has one other, but I have no interest. If you like vertical farming type stuff, you might. Don't have the name though)

On second thought, you might like Quirks and Quarks too. Huge back catalog as well.posted by kathrynm at 5:37 PM on August 12, 2014

If you've enjoyed Penn's Sunday School, as recommended by plinth earlier, you might also want to listen to Penn Jillette's old radio show Penn Radio. It was first broadcast in 2006 and early 2007. It is not a podcast (anymore), so you might need to use a tool like HuffDuffer to manually turn it into a podcast for your podcast client.

There are some personal storytelling (including monkey stories), some interviews, and it did occasionally go into political stuff. Also, Penn Jillette had changed some of his opinions (climate change, if I recall correctly) since the radio show.posted by applesurf at 5:52 PM on August 12, 2014

I just started listening to podcasts coming out of the Los Angeles Public Library's ALOUD speaker series and the topics are great and diverse.

Selected Shorts also does a really great job curating short stories read by well-known actors.

Otherwise, I love finding podcasts by searching for a random hobby or specific interest-- which is why I'm now hooked on The Twilight Pwn, the internet's third most popular Twilight Zone-related podcast. Also, AV Club's Podmass feature is a good way to find new shows. (Though they recently redesigned the layout, so I'd read older posts first.)posted by book 'em dano at 1:29 AM on August 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Like you, I also commute 10+ hours a week and somehow I'm able to squeeze in some gym time.

I second maggiepolitt's mention of Mike Duncan's History of Rome podcast. He has a listener- and history outsider-friendly presentation that is a pleasure to binge-listen.

Duncan's current project is Revolutions, wherein he covers major political upheavals. He's completed the English Civil War and the American Revolution, currently presenting the French Revolution. Like History of Rome, it's informative without being bland and, ultimately, I find it quite addictive to listen to.

If you're sci-fi oriented, you might like either Star Wars Minute (each episode dissects one minute of a Star Wars movie; Star Wars and Empire have been completed so far) or Mission Log: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast (each podcast discusses an episode of Star Trek; Original Series, animated series, Original Series movies have so far been covered).

For wicked giggles, I turn to How Did This Get Made, wherein Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas mercilessly but lovingly rip apart truly atrocious movies.posted by Quaversalis at 3:44 AM on August 13, 2014

Oh my gosh, you guys are AMAZING! My ears are practically vibrating off my skull in excitement at the prospect of all this new material!

By way of thank-you, I compiled EVERY suggestion in this thread (as of the morning of 8/13/14) into one big ol' list. It's sorted by number of recommendations, THEN alphabetically. Hope it's useful to some of you.

Presenting... "I've Listened to All 500+ Episodes of 'This American Life' and I'm STILL Bored!" : A Compendium of Less-Obvious Podcast Delights

Life of the Law. It's about legal things and how it affects people. I'm surprised it hasn't been recommended yet. Good back-catalog to dig though.Everything Sounds (may be too close too 99% Invisible for you).

I'd very much like to second the recommendation of The Tobolowsky Files (if you like it, go and start from the beginning). And Death Sex & Money (also mentioned above) since it has both personal stories and often related to sex & relationships.posted by bjrn at 11:03 AM on August 13, 2014

Point of Inquiry is a skeptic oriented program that produces critical and interesting science/politics related material. My most recent listen was an interview with an Evolutionary Biologist who talks about her book about how following the Paleo diet, as far as authenticity goes, has little basis in science.

Features greats such as Neil Degrasse Tyson and Bill Nye. :3

My personal favorite has been an interview with an author about his research into the founder of Fox News and the cult of personality he has formed around himself, which continues to influence today's media landscape and how his ideological line informs the bottom to top architecture of Fox News.posted by maykasahara at 3:13 AM on August 15, 2014

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